Connecting ring



E. A. LEARY CONNECTING RING Aug. 8, 1933.

Filed May 20, 1931 3mm; [gene A. L my Patented Aug. 8, 1933 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a connecting ring or collar for use withtubular casings or piling for construction work and the like and has forits object the provision of a means that will positively lock togetherthe sections of casing as they are successively sunk under the impact ofa pile driver.

Another object is to provide means in such a connecting ring to insurethe proper turning 0 of the connecting ends of the pile casing withinundercut channels in the rings.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ring of this characterwhich is effective and yet inexpensive to manufacture.

15 These and other objects are attained by the means described hereinand disclosed in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a casing ring of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a View taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing pile casings partlyinserted.

Fig. 3 is a fragmental cross-sectional elevational view of a pair ofpile casings connected by the ring of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

In the drawing the end of a casing 6 is shown with the connecting ringof the invention, indicated generally at '7, seated thereover and acasing 8 entered in the top of ring '7. The casings are in the form ofthe ordinary cylindrical tubes with adjacent ends 9 adapted to be splitor cut at one or more places 10 by cutting wedges 11 which are castintegral with an interior annular rib 12 on the ring. The rib 12 is ofan inside diameter substantially equal to the inside diameter of thecasings 6 and 8. The larger bore 13 at the outer edges of the ring 7 areslightly larger than the outside diameter of the casings 6 and 8. Thering is annularly undercut to form the groove 14 on each side of therib, said groove extending angularly to the plane of the ring so thatthe split ends 9 of the casings 6 and 8 may be turned outwardly and thusinterlocked to the ring which then connects the casings.

The wedge members 11 may have their cutting edges 15 inclined veryslightly to the rear in order to assist in the turning of the split endsof g the casings as they are being driven, with the 00 ring interposedinto the ground.

It has been found that it is essential to the eificiency of the devicethat the cutting wedges be used in order to insure proper bending orturning of the ends. If an annular groove on each side of anintermediate annular rib is used without a cutting wedge so that theseating ends of the casings remain continuous, it frequently happensthat the pipe will be deformed inwardly as often as outwardly with theresult that no absolutely secure connection is made. In the event thatthe end of the pipe should turn inwardly within the ring and the seriesof pile casings should strike a hard ledge at one side, the furtherdriving of the pile casing would result in the bending of the series ofcasings at any of the ring connections wherein the pipe was not securelyand properly seated in the annular undercut grooves.

The construction herein described avoids this difficulty in that theconnection tends to stabilize and assist in vertically sinking the pilecasing.

What is claimed is:

1. In a connecting device of the class described a flat endless bandhaving a pair of spaced annular grooves undercut in the inner. facethereof, a dovetailed annular rib between said grooves and a cuttingWedge extending from each side of the rib.

2. In a device of the class described the combination of a relativelywide flat ring, an abutment rib on the inner circumference of the ringintermediate the edges thereof, the rib and the ring body adjacentthereto being undercut to provide a pair of tapered angularly disposedannular channels and cutting wedges on opposite sides of the rib andclosing the immediately adjacent portions of said channels.

3. In combination with a driven tubular casing, of a collar slidablyseated on the top of said casing, an undercut abutment rib on the collaradapted for and seating on the end of said casing, the collar beingundercut annularly beyond the external diameter of the casing cuttingwedges on the opposite sides of said rib, a second casing entered in thetop of the collar, the wedges being adapted, upon impact delivered tothe second casing, to effect longitudinal splitting of the ends or" bothcasings and to assist in the outward turning of said split ends into theundercut grooves.

4. In a device of the class described the combination of a ring having apair of spaced annular internal grooves, an internal rib extendingbetween adjacent edges of said grooves and cutting means on the ribextending transversely across the groove.

EUGENE A. LEARY.

